Eco-Friendly and Futuristic Volkswagen BUDD-e Concept

By Justin Patterson4 May 2017

Volkswagen’s BUDD-e concept made its debut during 2016 Consumer Electronics Show. This is compact and pretty looking van which is obviously based on Microbus. However, this vehicle uses only electrical energy to ride. If you want to know how the 2017 VW Bus – legendary T2 successor would look like, the answer will be closer to this concept.

To be honest the battery of this van is rather massive. It’s 101-kWh lithium-ion thing which outputs around 233 miles of range which is quite a good number. Charging it isn’t a big deal because 15 minutes is enough to charge this van almost fully. Its top speed is 93 MPH in theory. This AWD technology is also environmentally friendly.

Plug-in Hybrid

This concept is based on VW MEB technology which is made specially for plug-in vehicles. The heart of this platform is flat battery pack which is placed between the wheels. One of the reasons to use MEB for BUDD-e is to make it more environmentally friendly because this vehicle went through a certain eco-problem when it was first announced. Nevertheless, this car is said to offer the driving range which is much close to the gasoline-powered vehicles.

The overall length of this promising concept is 181 inches which is a bit longer than Golf SportWagen by Volkswagen. With such a body BUDD-e can offer only two rows of seats. In the rear part you have some place to relax. There’s a huge entertainment screen not to let your passengers feel bored. Technologies are still a strong side of this vehicle. They’re somewhat futuristic. For example, the instrument cluster and the infotainment system are united which looks nice and unusual. On such a screen you can see information about your ride, navigation and video recorded by the cameras.

The steering wheel is of two-spoke kind with touchpads which are sensitive to pressure. Gesture control also makes it possible to operate the vehicle’s functions. Voice-recognition system is also here. You can activate it just by saying «Hello BUDD-e».

Well, since such concepts which are prototypes of classical VW type 2 still arrive, there’s a reason to believe that its successor is coming. Most likely it will be the first model with a hybrid or electrical powerplant.

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The new Navigator has gorgeous look, making it even more distant from same platform Expedition. The product car has recently revealed – it’s design is very similar to the concept car. With powerful 450 HP engine it is likely to have success in premium SUV market.

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